"Piehole" in Midwestern means "mouth," as in "Shut your piehole." Preferably we shut it on some tasty home cooking. We love to grow, market, buy, cook, bake and grill so we can feed our faces, chow down, pig out, scarf & whatnot. I'm a born Midwestern home cook posting foods and recipes that show up in front of me, because like all Midwesterners I eat what's put in front of me. Pull up a chair. What can I get you?

Monday, July 20, 2015

Only trained people know which mushrooms are safe to eat, so if you haven't been trained, buy your chanterelles from a market or licensed seller. Never taste, cook, or eat any wild mushroom that is not 100 percent identified by a qualified human. The Internet and books are not 100 percent trustworthy; "how it looks" is not a 100 percent ID. Cook all mushrooms before eating. Even the choicest mushrooms, when raw, contain hard-to-digest compounds and don't taste good; those compounds can evaporate with cooking. You already know that even everyday "button" mushrooms don't taste good raw. Here's how I cook chanterelles:

1. Obtain 1 pound of chanterelles. They should be firm and cheddar-yellow. Don't refrigerate them; they're not cold-weather fungi like store-bought button mushrooms.

2. Gently rinse with cold running water any soil, grass, or bugs from chanterelles; scissor off any tough, brown, or bug-eaten stems. You don't need to get every dark speck off every mushroom.
3. Allow the cleaned mushrooms to dry for a while on a towel.

5. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it's hot, add the mushrooms. Stir to coat them with the oil and let them cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until they are cooked through, and all the water cooks out.
Add salt and pepper if desired, to taste.

Chanterelles are good in omelets, quiches, soups, and on pizza, but they must be cooked before adding them to any recipe.
When cooked, they may be put in covered containers and refrigerated. Please note: Some people are allergic to all mushrooms. Rather than eat a bunch all at once, you and everyone who's joining you should take a small first bite.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or spray a 10-inch quiche pan or pie pan.
2. Saute onions in one tablespoon of of butter until they begin to brown. Add the other tablespoon of butter, the vegetables, and saute until the vegetables soften and any liquid has evaporated.
3. Cover the bottom of the greased pan with the vegetables. Beat all the other ingredients together until they're smooth. Pour over the vegetables. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 5 to 10 minutes and serve. Also tastes good at room temperature.